i’m very aroused…

Hmmm…

Looking good at the plate.  Talking to A-Rod.

Yeah, Posada’s juicing…

I’m saddened by a 1-run loss in the 3rd game of Spring Training.  Should I seek therapy?

Posada will become a liability

How rhe hell does the bullpen blow a 3 run lead!  Time to put Joba in the bullpen NOW!

Joba?  Blowing a 3-run lead in Spring Training calls for something more drastic.  CC to the pen!!!

“Talking to A-Rod.”

To be just, A-Rod talked to Posada; we don’t know if Posada ignored him.  Maybe he’s still unsullied.

“Should I seek therapy? “

No, you should ADMINISTER therapy to those who DON’T care.

“I’m saddened by a 1-run loss in the 3rd game of Spring Training.  Should I seek therapy?”

Just remember that IPK came out after two innings.  In a real game he goes 7 and allows 2 runs, one unearned, and the pen cruises.

One of my most enduring Yankees memories is Andy saying after spring training in ‘98 that the team was going to be very good (ok, too vague to be a memory, shoot me).  Here’s to him saying the same thing this year, with the same effect.

Brian Bruney:

“I like the pressure that comes with being a closer. I feed off that. In 2005 with Arizona, I saved 12 games, including 10 in a row. My ERA was horrible, but I was still getting saves.”

Oof.

In a real game he goes 7 and allows 2 runs

Shouldn’t this be goes 2 and allows 7?

”...My ERA was horrible, but I was still getting saves.”

Oof.

Wait, so you’re saying saves aren’t the best measure of a reliever?  I’m confused.

/MSM

Remember how good of a ST Cano had last year? What about Pudge’s 12 (I think) dingers in exhibition play last year. Don’t wet yourselves just yet.

Is there any correlation between spring performance and real games? (for pitchers and positions)

“Don’t wet yourselves just yet.”

Now there’s some well-warranted advice.

I’m awaiting the right moment to wet myself.

I wish someone had told me to wait before it was too late.

It’s possible to wait? I wish someone told me that earlier.

Given that we’re all getting clear on the concept, and that I’m working on this with my wildly-precocious 2-year-old, no pooping ourselves either.

Where’s yankeemonkey?  Somehow, I feel this is a discussion she’ll want to weigh in on.

i just wet myself in advance just to be on the safe side

yankeemonkey is a woman?

Well, although ST is no real barometer for the actual season, it’s encouraging that he’s swinging as if he’s uninjured!

...my training for work has destroyed me.  One more day (Saturday of it), then I can sleep forever.  Or at least a day.

22: There are girls on this board, yes.

TWO women?  look out Bill Hendrickson…

What are you training for?

I was sort of kidding..

22: There are girls on this board, yes.

That’s what she said.

Got to like what we’ve seen from Gardner so far, no? Even though ST games mean nothing, the fact that he’s mashing against pitchers who either suck or are working on getting back into form while Melky has been his old self against those same pitchers is certainly something.

Yup with the Big Love reference.
I really like Paxton but Harry Dean Stanton is the effin man.
Love him longtime.

that show is crazy.  very entertaining.  i could never live like that guy does, he’s always one minute away from his entire house of cards collapsing.  the stress would kill me.

I would trade the Chloe skank for a good gardener or electrician.
Margene on the other hand would be a 5 night a weeker.
I love the compound creeps, best part of the show.

yeah, Bill’s mother is one of the best characters, at least the funniest.  his father is obviously great as well.

no arguments at all on Margene.

Aye- its not Deadwood but its still pretty entertaining.
Alby the poofter will get more camera time this season.
Vito from Utah.

...now this string…this is a fine string.  I’m working all night and my first breather is RLYW, and I get to wet my pants.

The Yanks today, just couldn’t come through with RISP.  They lost that clutchy feeling.  Is it gone?  Gone?  Gone.  Oh.  Whoah.

Wait. Is Ivy a girl too?

Yankz, my sarcastometer is totally dysfunctional, so I’ll answer in the affirmative and look like a fool.

Shouldn’t this be goes 2 and allows 7?

That’s even-year IPK.  Odd-year IPK is the good one.

The Yanks today, just couldn’t come through with RISP. 

Sounds like mid season form.

Or is spring training suppose to wash away those bitter snarky memories?

According to Peter Abraham, Johan Santana is out “indefinitely” with elbow tightness.  The Mets must really be on pins and needles.

What about Yanks fans?

UPDATE, 12:22 p.m.: Jorge Posada has been scratched because of shoulder discomfort.

UPDATE, 12:22 p.m.: Jorge Posada has been scratched because of shoulder discomfort.

This news….this is not my kind of news.

How much has Posada been catching? Not during games yet, I presume.

He hasn’t been catching during games at all, but he has been doing a throwing program.  In any case, I wouldn’t get bent out of shape just yet.

It’s obvious this thread was a jinx.

I hate it, hate it, hate it, but I’m gonna indulge in the radar gun game anyways…

I notice Joba is around 88-90 on the YES gun with his fastball so far. It’s his first time on the mound, right? On Thursday, Hughes was sitting around 90-92 with his fastball. So early on at least, there’s some reason to feel good about Phil.

Oh man, Sterling is already talking about how the Yanks need to drive in runners with sac flies.

Oh man, Sterling is already talking about how the Yanks need to drive in runners with sac flies.

Somehow I don’t find this as bad as Waldman’s singing of Molina’s situational hitting prowess.

This news….this is not my kind of news.

My prospective father-in-law said that once when I wouldn’t take off my shoes in his house.

And did he become your actual father-in-law?

No, I left Korea shortly thereafter.

That’s even-year IPK.  Odd-year IPK is the good one.

In the old days, the Yanks would have just traded him to Kansas City for a Roger Maris in the even numbered years, and then get him back for a Marv Throneberry in the odd numbered years.

My prospective father-in-law said that once when I wouldn’t take off my shoes in his house.

Yahtzee!

In the old days, the Yanks would have just traded him to Kansas City for a Roger Maris in the even numbered years, and then get him back for a Marv Throneberry in the odd numbered years

Wait, have you been listening to the Twins broadcast?

Wait, have you been listening to the Twins broadcast?

Nope.  I’m at work.  Did some announcer just say the same thing on the air?

that show is crazy.  very entertaining.  i could never live like that guy does, he’s always one minute away from his entire house of cards collapsing.  the stress would kill me.

The Shield is like that too, especially towards the end of the series.  I think the DVD boxset comes with Lexapro.

They were talking about similar sort of stuff yesterday…basically that the Yanks owned a bunch of expansion teams back in the days before free agency, with whom they had their way like a ruffian master-of-the-house with a maid.  So before they could buy championships with free-agency, the could buy them by owning multiple teams.

Being an old fart Yankee fan, it kind of bugs me that people can’t get this stuff right when they want to bitch about it.  The most frequent victims of these transactions were the old Saint Louis Browns and the Philadelphia/Kansas City A’s.  Both of those were original AL franchises, not expansion teams.  And the Red Sox bought players that those teams could no longer afford just as often as the Yankees did, but with much less success in terms of “buying championships” obviously.

But that whole “ruffian master-of-the-house with the maid thing” does sound quite intriguing.  Is there a newsletter I could subscribe to?

MC, I left you a present on the previous thread.

Is there a newsletter I could subscribe to?

I’m not sure that I’d call the magazine a newsletter, exactly.

What?  You’re expecting a thank you note for that, Froggie?

I think he thinks he’s praising you with faint damns.

RAB commentariat saying that Joba was soft-tossing, I guess just pitching for the ambiance.

This early in ST, it’s more about how guys get ready for the season. From what I’ve read, Chamberlain was just stretching it out today.

Makes you wonder if Hughe, who was hitting 91-92, was doing the same.

The absurdity made me giggle.

Me too. Don will post soon. Bank on it.

I can’t hope to match Don’s consistency and focus.  Especially without my meds.

I really liked that machine gun toting banana Don used last season to encourage the moribund Yankee offense.

Makes you wonder if Hughe, who was hitting 91-92, was doing the same.

That would be nice.  But Hughes pitched in Winter Ball so it seems much less likely.

Hughes also began throwing earlier in the winter.  I doubt he is maxed out with his velocity right now, but when healthy he’s more of a 92-93 mph guy.  In any case, as we all know, the thing with Hughes is command not necessarily velocity.

I doubt he is maxed out with his velocity right now, but when healthy he’s more of a 92-93 mph guy.

Yeah, I think he can get it up to 95 - w/o over-throwing - on occasion, but normally he’ll sit 92-93.  And if he has good control, w/ how good his curve is, that’s fine.  If he can develop that change, he’s right back to being a #1/#2 type of pitcher (w/o the change he’s still a #2/#3 I think).

Oh, and apparently the dr that examined Posada said (paraphrase) it was pretty amazing that Posada went this far into rehab w/o experiencing soreness.

Oh, and apparently the dr that examined Posada said (paraphrase) it was pretty amazing that Posada went this far into rehab w/o experiencing soreness.

Is this doctor a sadist? And he enjoys messing with our head?

I really liked that machine gun toting banana Don used last season to encourage the moribund Yankee offense.

Yeah, I can’t hope to match Don’s mad smiley skilz, either.

the dr that examined Posada said (paraphrase) it was pretty amazing that Posada went this far into rehab w/o experiencing soreness

I’m entering my 32nd year of shoulder rehab.  I’ll be starting my 32nd year of experiencing soreness in about a week and a half.

I don’t know what to make of Gardner hitting home runs.

I don’t know what to make of Gardner hitting home runs.

I recommended…

1) Dancing a Irish jig.
2) Going to your nearest bar and buying a round for everyone.
3) Killing the fatted calf.
4) Canceling your Melky Cabrera jersey order and selling your Melky Cabrera baseball cards.

recommended

... recommend.. damn these friggin typos.

75:it scares me.  I have this sinking feeling that he’ll have a monster spring and then suck when the games count ala Wo(e)mack and Enrique Wilson.  If he wins the starting job what do they do with Melky?  He’s out of options, how many outfielders can they carry?

It strikes me that being scared of Gardner having a good spring is really forcing it. Sure, players have good springs and terrible seasons all the time, but I don’t think that anyone would want to say that having a good springs makes you more likely to have a bad season.

Put another way, we’re right not to be convinced that Gardner will be good by a few at bats in spring training, but that doesn’t mean we can conclude the opposite.

Yeah, it’s like rooting for an awful player they picked up to fill a hole to do bad so he stops getting playing time… why not just first hope he does well? Gardner having a good spring doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be good this year, but it’s better than having a bad spring.

why not just first hope he does well?

I was coming at it less hoping that Gardner doesn’t make the team - I actually think he deserves a shot at showing whether or not he can translate his solid OBP / ridiculous speed / plus-defense minor league skills to the bigs - but more wondering whether his hitting a couple of spring home runs might get him thinking about driving the ball in the air.  I have no idea how much fluke homers might or might not mess players up…there seems to be a generally POOMA feeling that a couple of home runs might actually be bad for a light hitter…recent history points to Melky last year, with his five April dingers and then the embarrassing display he put on for the rest of the season.

I don’t think having a good spring makes Gardner more likely to fail I just think its largely independent of if he will fail which I’m afraid, and I hope all the optimists are right. will be the case.  Cano on the other hand I’ll take a sensational spring as a very good omen.

If a pitcher throws Gardner a meatball, he should hit it out.  That doesn’t necessarily mean he’s going to try and slug 40 home runs.  And the fact of the matter is that pitchers are going to throw the ball over the plate because they don’t want to walk him.  So if he can do some damage with those pitches, that would be great.  Even if he just hits the ball over an outfielder’s head, he is almost guaranteed a triple.  Obviously, he should try and keep the ball on the ground and bunt with regularity - but I see no problem with him putting the ball in the air if a pitcher lays it in there.

The usual argument is that player X is bad (or anyway not good enough) and if he has an upward fluctuation in ST which puts him on the team the inevitable correction will hurt in the real season and will take a while to recover from (player y will have to get into the flow of things, maybe player y will have to be acquired, the money will have to be found, etc. etc.).

... though probably that “why not” was rhetorical.

It just strikes me that the cost of Gardner making the team—potentially losing Melky—is not enough of a cost to justify holding on to Melky if Gardner shows more over the course of the spring. In the offseason debates it seemed like the consensus here was that the two will be interchangeably bad.

In the offseason debates it seemed like the consensus here was that the two will be interchangeably bad.

Heheheh…interchangeably bad.

Melky isn’t going anywhere. Nobody will pay $1.4m for a terrible player.

Melky isn’t going anywhere. Nobody will pay $1.4m for a terrible player.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3744796

Hey, Kieth Law liked the Renteria signing…

Why can’t Melky just be the 4th (or 5th) OF if Gardner beats him out?

5 SPs - Sabathia, Burnett, Wang, Chamberlain, Pettitte.
5 IFs - Teixeira, Cano, Jeter, Rodriguez, Ransom/Berroa.
2 Cs - Posada, Molina
1 DH - Matsui
4 OFs - Damon, Gardner (for argument’s sake), Swisher, Nady
7 RPs - Rivera, Marte, Bruney, Veras, Coke, Ramirez, Aceves/Giese

That’s 24. So they could conceivably carry 1 of (1) A 3rd catcher (Cash), (2) A 5th OF (Cabrera), (3) An 8th guy in the bullpen.

So a healthy Posada may impact Cabrera’s future.

OK, I guess I exaggerated. But I’d still be surprised.